Restless employees expect more

With more signs pointing to an economy on the mend -- and workers getting restless for a return to a normal job market -- employers might want to consider a bigger dose of honey and a bit less vinegar.

After riding out the recession, employees are on the lookout for bigger pay, a return of some perks and, sometimes, better bosses.

"Employees have been under wage freezes and seen their benefits taken away from them," said Art Smith, managing principal of AG Smith & Associates, a Brentwood-based human resources and pay consulting firm.

"They saw the empty desks and cubicles and wondered if the hammer might fall on them," Smith said. "As the economy starts to turn around, they are starting to look for greener pastures elsewhere."

Over the next six to 12 months, human resources expert Kellie Conn expects to see quite a bit of turnover of top talent at area companies.

"People are talking covertly with their network and contacts," said Conn, director of the Society for Human Resource Management's Tennessee council.

Three keys to keeping employees will be offering workplace flexibility, along with bonuses and other financial rewards linked to performance, Conn said.

Companies also need to make sure supervisors have the skills to be good bosses, she added.

Tennessee's unemployment rate for January crept higher to 9.5 percent, up 0.1 percentage points from December, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said recently.

But the agency pointed to year-over-year job gains in several sectors as a brighter sign.

Year-over-year increases occurred in professional and business services, up by 10,900 jobs; educational and health services, with a gain of 8,600 jobs; and transportation and warehousing, with 6,000 more jobs, state officials said. That seemed to offset losses in nondurable goods manufacturing, down by 4,300 jobs; arts, entertainment and recreation, which lost 2,300 jobs; and financial activities, down 1,500 jobs.

A private research group recently said the number of new, first-time advertised vacancies continues to rise, indicating more employers may be ready to hire.

Also, workers may receive average pay increases this year that would be the best gains since the financial crisis started, according to a survey by Towers Watson, human resources consultants.

Merit-based raises will average 3 percent, higher than last year's 2.7 percent but not yet to pre-recession levels of 3.5 percent to 4 percent, the report said.

The survey also found that companies are lifting hiring freezes, with 42 percent planning to hire workers for jobs that require critical skills this year. Forty percent plan to add professional and technical workers to their payrolls.

Locally, computer programmer Mike Calhoun, 29, in the midst of switching jobs, said he was drawn to a new workplace where he can be more creative, earn higher pay and have a better chance to advance.

"There's much more room for innovation," he said of his new job.

He doesn't have huge complaints about his current employer, a large institution in town, although his work has been largely limited to records management, and raises were minimal.

When the number of IT postings started to pick up, Calhoun said, he knew it would be a good time to make a move.

Indeed, HR executive Conn said employees get restless when they feel they're not getting feedback, growing in their career or feeling valued as whole people. Staffing companies, headhunters and recruiters also will be going after top performers as companies start hiring again.